Mentor and Mentee Celebrate Three Years of Their Extraordinary Relationship

While her own family remains in Puerto Rico, where she was raised, Mariela Oyola-Brauch beams, “My relationship with my mentee, Bridgette, is more than merely a mentoring relationship – for me, she and her family are my family.”

When her employer, Procter & Gamble, partnered with Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC) to recruit Hispanic employees to join their mentoring initiative, Mariela felt compelled to enroll. She says, “I wanted to help cultivate a future generation of Hispanics who are educated and involved in their communities.”

CYC, a United Way of Greater Cincinnati agency partner, provides mentoring and college readiness services to young people in grades 3 through 12, ensuring that these children graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary education or rewarding employment.

Mariela’s mentee, Bridgette, who will begin her 8th grade year at the Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies (AMIS) in the fall, recalls the day she finally met Mariela after discovering the program through her school. She thought, “Wow, I got her! Everyone wanted her.”

Young and approachable, Mariela saw Bridgette from then on as much as possible – sometimes two or three times a week – to cook, play volleyball, swim, or see a play.

Research shows that a child with a sustained and supportive relationship with at least one caring adult achieves positive outcomes like academic success and social skills development.

Bridgette’s grades had always been a point of contention. But now, well into the third year of their relationship, even this trying area is seeing improvement. And, more confident and outspoken than she was before she met Mariela, Bridgette has been recognized as “student of the month” several times.

Mariela recollects to when Bridgette felt that there was no point to graduating from high school. She remembers a night when Bridgette modeled Mariela’s lab coat and pretended to be a doctor. For Mariela, that night constituted a turning point – and Bridgette now expresses hopes of becoming a nurse.

Recently, Mariela was awarded the Wendy Steel Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Having now run the mentoring initiative at P&G for two years, she aspires to expand the program by collaborating with supplementary community partners and encouraging P&G employees abroad to initiate their own programs.

With reflection, Bridgette says, “If I wasn’t with Mariela, I’d be lost. I think I’d get in trouble in school and my grades would still be low.” Mariela counters, “I just hope that Bridgette continues to be a great daughter and friend, and that she finds something that can sustain her.”

Mariela smiles, “It’s our community’s responsibility to foster youth. Mentoring has been the most gratifying experience of my life.”

For United Way’s annual Day of Action, held this year on June 21, nearly 75 mentors, mentees and prospective mentors participated in United Way’s Mentoring Fair, in conjunction with United Way Worldwide’s efforts to recruit one million volunteer tutors and mentors over the next three years. To find out more about mentoring, or to find a mentoring opportunity that aligns with your interests, please visit http://uwgc.volunteermatch.org.

Industrious Mother Achieves Employment After Her Apartment Complex Closes

Shay was referred to Welcome House (WHO) of Northern Kentucky when the complex she was living in announced it was closing for extensive renovations. One month later, Shay and her nine-year-old daughter, Khiarah, moved into WHO’s Gardens at Greenup.

WHO collaborates with the community to provide a continuum of services for individuals and families who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Gardens at Greenup is a residential-based program of WHO for single parents and their children with on-site support services.

United Way of Greater Cincinnati is focused on ensuring that all families and individuals achieve financial stability. We work with systems and partners to guarantee that low-income working families and individuals have stable incomes and accessible financial resources.

Residents at the Gardens have their own individual case management plans, and are required to either be in school and/or working, maintain passing grades, and participate in budgeting classes, with a shared goal of becoming self-sufficient and, ultimately, financially stable. “Gardens is like a family,” says Shay. “We carpool to school together, watch each other’s kids, and meet regularly to share meals.”

Soon after Shay and Khiarah moved into the Gardens, she learned of an opportunity to be matched with a United Way Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) member who would act as her mentor.

The WLC is committed to making a positive impact on the community with a special emphasis on helping women become more self-sufficient. WLC members co-host regular workshops, including parenting, good health, resume writing, and financial planning classes for the residents.

Together for two years now, Shay and her mentor, Kathy Gaines, principal at Deloitte & Touche, share a mutual admiration. “Kathy gives me the valuable perspective from someone who has already worked hard to be successful and knows what my next move should be.”

With support from Kathy and the Gardens’ services, Shay became the first in her family to graduate from college last year, and is now working part-time as an advocate at the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, another United Way funded program. “If not for the Gardens, I may not have graduated—they’ve helped me in so many ways.”

Kathy says, “Despite her significant challenges, she’s remained aspirational. Instead of getting discouraged, she got determined.”

New to Cincinnati, Young Attorney Finds Volunteer Niche with EITC Tax-Prep

United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s efforts to provide solutions for increasing income, establishing savings, achieving home ownership, and enhancing economic self-sufficiency are critical in today’s economy. United Way’s Regional Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Collaborative helps families make work pay by providing free tax preparation services at nearly 80 sites throughout the region.

New to Cincinnati, University of Michigan Law School graduate Jonathan Brodhag, pictured above, perused UWGC’s web site, uwgc.org, for an engaging volunteer opportunity. He says, “The EITC tax prep opportunity grabbed me mainly because it fit my schedule as I was studying for the bar exam, and I was able to use my accounting skills.”

Jonathan is now in his second year as an EITC tax-prep volunteer and is working as the assistant city solicitor with the City of Cincinnati’s Economic Development Department.

In his capacity as a volunteer, he has enjoyed meeting many unique individuals. “A number of people have made an impact on me. From the couple in their mid-80’s to the single mom or dad showing up with all their kids, it’s admirable that they took the time needed to prepare—maybe while even holding down two jobs or coming off the third shift.”

Financial stability is one of the key factors to building strong and stable families, and, in turn, strong and stable communities. By accessing public benefits, such as the EITC, families can build savings and sustain financial assets.

Jonathan comments, “The program is providing such a great service—if you can wait 10 days to get your refund, you can get it all done for free!” While many filers are subject to service fees and refund anticipation loans sold to them by for-profit businesses, this free service returned $19.1 million to families and individuals through 16,553 filed returns in the 2010 tax-filing season.